Tony Hawk 2 E3 2000 Impressions

I hadn't played Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 for a few months. The last version I saw had a few of the new gameplay tweaks in place, such as the addition of manuals, and some more of the new tricks. The latest version meshes all of these new items together more fluidly, and it feels more like a game than the previous builds have.

As previously reported, the manuals are essentially little wheelies that you can pull when you're landing a trick. Since the manual counts as a trick, you can ride a manual over to a rail and link together an even larger combo. The manual essentially makes the trick possibilities even more endless than the original Tony Hawk. The animation is roughly the same as the original game, though, of course, there are plenty of new moves, such as Steve Cabellero's triple kickflip. Also, there are more differences between the different skaters.

The two levels I've seen so far look great, with lots of opportunities to use the new manual trick to link together huge combos. This is definitely going to be a PlayStation game to watch for this year.